10:54:48 CEST

"The legs are good. I’m training very well in the last month. Now we have a good week to work on my intensity,"he said.

I’m very happy with things at this moment. Maybe we’re going a bit slower in preparation for the Tour than in previous years but I think that’s the most intelligent thing to do."

"If you look at the profile today it’s up and down all day. There are lots of corners and there’s no easy day. We need to pay attention if there’s rain, because that can make it more dangerous but it’s a good day for training."

10:57:12 CEST

We also took this photo of Contador's new race bike.

10:59:44 CEST

To read more about Alberto Contador's hopes and ambitions for the Dauphine, click here to read what he said during his pre-race press conference.

11:01:43 CEST

Today's stage is up and down in the hills outside of Saint-Etienne. THe first climb - the Col du Pilon comes soon. It is 4.8km long at 5% average. It is a great launch pad for the break of the day.

11:02:36 CEST

We have already seen several attacka from the Cyclingnews blimp. 20 riders tried to get away but Team Sky has been working for a more controlled start to the racing.

11:03:32 CEST

Seven riders have escaped from the 20-rider group but the racing is fast as riders try to form the early break of the day.

11:08:42 CEST

We are not suprised to see that Thomas de Gendt (Lotto Soudal) is in the attack. He is first to the top of the Col de Pilon and takes two points in the climber's competition.

11:13:12 CEST

The fast start and early climb saw several riders go out the back of the peloton, including sprinters Alexander Kristoff, Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Démare.

It seems that Warren Barguil was also caught out by the fast start.

11:15:55 CEST

Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb) spoke to Cyclingnews before the start of the stage. He suffered a micro fracture in his hip at the Tour de Romandie and so has missed some key training.

"Healing has gone well. It could always be better but I’m happy to be here. I’ve not been riding my bike again for that long but I wanted to come here and get some kilometres," the Frenchman said.

"It’s not since Romandie that I last raced and it’s been only two weeks since I’ve been able to training again. I had to take three weeks totally off the bike so that I could recover."

This has all changed my plans. I was originally hoping to go to altitude before the Dauphine but then I couldn’t do that because of my physiotherapy."

"Now the plan is to just arrive at the Tour de France in the best shape possible. This race is all about getting in kilometres and building my shape. I would like to do something later in the week but we really need to see. The weight is okay, it’s not bad, but it’s more about the fitness."

11:16:33 CEST

At the head of the race the 7 attackers have pushed out their lead to two minutes.

11:17:19 CEST

Also in the move is Nibali. Not Vincenzo, who finished third in the recent Giro d'Italia but his younger brother Antonio, who also rides for Bahrain-Merida.

12:28:26 CEST

12:36:17 CEST

As we near the halfway point in the stage the peloton has upped the chase and begun to bring the gap on the breakway below 6:00.

The stronger riders in the peloton have the advantage of the series of hills in the final 85km of the stage. There are five categorised climbs left to race, including the 6.8km long 2nd category Côte de Saint-Romain-les-Atheux after 94.5km of racing.

13:04:28 CEST

13:13:20 CEST

As the riders head to the Côte de Saint-Romain-les-Atheux their lead remains at 5:40.

The climb will be key to their hopes of staying away to the finish.

13:19:48 CEST

Alexander Kristoff has been linked to a number of teams, with Astana reportedly leading the way to sign him.

He told Cyclingnews at the start of the Dauphine that he is still mulling over his future with his current contract winding down at Katusha-Alpecin.

"At the moment I don’t know my plans. Maybe I’ll continue with Katusha. We’re in negotiations but there are also other teams interested," Kristoff told Cyclingnews at the start of the opening stage of the Critérium.

“I look for a team that’s going to give me opportunities and one that’s going to help me be competitive in the sprints and in the Classics, as I’ve been doing here in Katusha."

15:29:44 CEST

Most of the big name contenders have hit the rollers to warm down. Here is Chris Froome of Team Sky.

15:32:45 CEST

Here's the first image of De Gendt in the race leader's yellow jersey. He also got a LCL lion too, just like at the Tour de France.

15:40:01 CEST

We have some of the first race images of De Gendt's solo victory.

15:40:57 CEST

Here's Thomas De Gendt as he celebrates victory.

15:43:27 CEST

This image sums up todays stage in the hills around Saint-Etienne.

15:51:38 CEST

The Orica-Scott team dis much of the chasing in the finale but De Gendt escaped their efforts yet again.

16:01:05 CEST

Alberto Contador finished safely in the peloton and seemed to have enjoyed a day in the peloton.

16:04:39 CEST

Chris Froome spoke briefly at the finish.

"It was a good stage and good for us to get that one out of the way without any major issues," Froome explained after the race.

"It’s my first day of racing since Romanide. Today was a good day to blow out the cobwebs and it was pretty grippy in the final there."

16:05:29 CEST

Froome pointed out that Team Sky did their but to help the chase of the break early on.

"Thomas De Gendt did well today and he’ll definitely hold onto the jersey for a few days. He’s obviously going well, but once we hit the big climbs I expect he’ll give up the jersey at one point," he said.

"We did quite a bit of work early on, just to not let the break go too far, but it seemed like not many other people wanted to contribute until it was too late. For us it’s just about staying out of trouble, staying out of the wind and saving it for when it really matters."

16:07:37 CEST

Thanks for joining us for full live coverage of the opening stage of the Criterium du Dauphine.

16:09:14 CEST

Our reporters on the race will have exclusive interviews and news from the Dauphine on Cyclingnews every day during the eight-day race.

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